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The movie theater isn't the only popular spot for those spending the Chinese New Year holiday in Beijing. With 10 municipal parks, including the renowned Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven and Jingshan Park, offering free admission, park tours are among the many ways people are spending the week-long holiday in the capital city.
As Beijing Daily reported Monday, the free admission has spurred some 600,000 trips in these parks on the first three days of the holiday that started from February 11, and some of the popular ones have already been booked out.
Beihai Park, a well-preserved imperial garden located in the city center, has been decorated with traditional Chinese lanterns to welcome visitors and the Year of the Ox.
Beihai Park, located in the center of Beijing, is one of the oldest and best preserved imperial gardens in China, February 8, 2021. /CFP
When it comes to building imperial gardens, the combination of mountains and waters is considered quite important in ancient China. Sitting right next to the former imperial garden of Jingshan, which features hills, Beihai, literally meaning "Northern Sea," is characterized by its water. With an area of 690,000 square meters, three times the size of Jingshan Park, half of the site is taken up by water.
Yongan Bridge is a stone bridge that leads to the Jade Islet in Beihai Park, February 8, 2021. /CFP
The park boasts a history of nearly 1,000 years that can be traced back to as early as the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) when it was first built as a garden for imperial families. Then it went through a major transformation during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), which largely resembled what it looks like today.
Yongan Bridge is also a popular photo spot to capture the White Pagoda, February 8, 2021. /CFP
In addition to the typical ancient Chinese architecture, it is home to religious constructions as well. The White Pagoda, now a landmark in Beijing, is a Tibetan-style stupa constructed during the Qing Dynasty. Standing nearly 40 meters in height, it is a vantage point on the Jade Islet situated in the center of the park.
The Five-Dragon Pavilions, first erected in 1602, used to be a spot for angling and enjoying the view for imperial members, February 8, 2021. /CFP
These five connected pavilions feature exquisite carvings and paintings on the girders and pillars, February 8, 2021. /CFP
Red lanterns in Beihai Park, February 8, 2021. /CFP
Nowadays, Beihai also plays a part in maintaining the city's ecological balance as an urban park.
Travel tips:
Admission ticket: 10 yuan from April to October, and half the price for the rest of the year.
It's offering free admission from February 11 to 17, 2021, with the number of visitors limited to 75 percent of the maximum capacity. Also, advance bookings are required that can be made via the WeChat official account "Changyou Gongyuan."
Also check out the previous episode of the series: Ditan Park
(Cover image designed by Li Wenyi)
